If you are starting your camino in Oviedo be sure to leave enough time to visit the Cathedral, which is the origin of the camino itself. It is also the place to pick up your credential (pilgrim passport) which will cost you 2.5€ but will include a visit to the Camara Santa, the oldest...

History:

When Oviedo was founded in 761 it was all but deserted apart from two monks; Fromestano and his uncle Máximo. These two dedicated their church to San Vicente, and 20 years later it would grow to become a monastery. In that monastery was born the future King Alfonso II, during whose reign would be...

The Road:

The road out of Oviedo is notoriously confusing. To make matters worse, there are too many shells on the ground to be helpful, especially in the center. They mark several of the caminos into, and out of, Oviedo. There is no distinction between the two directions.

Capilla de Carmen

Beyond La Bolguina the camino keeps to the road, passing through Fabaria, and only leaves it just before the río Nora. It does so in favor of crossing the river via the Puente de Gallegos and quickly returns to the road as it passes through...

The Bridge of Gallegos belongs to the town of Gallegos (just up the road). It originally dated from the 13th century but was destroyed in 1934 during the run up to the start of the Civil War; this was a common fate for many other bridges along the way, a deliberate effort meant...

Notice:

If you chose to stay on the road, remember that drivers expect you to be on the trail.

The Road:

After crossing the bridge, continue along the road. It will take you uphill and straight through town. The arrows at the end of town turn right into the forested countryside. This is officially the camino, but on very wet days it is very muddy and it is just as easy to stay on the road into...

Two bars, one at the start of town and another (El Tendejón) closer to the albergue. The latter bar keeps the keys to the albergue. They are closed on Wednesdays and the key is then available at the shop on the road closer to the albergue.

The albergue here is located in the old...

The Road:

Exit town via the road (turn left from the albergue). Before Valsera, the camino will leave the road for 400m.

The camino rejoins the road in the small hamlet of Valsera, be on the lookout for a marker on your left where you will once again leave the road and follow a track through the countryside. You will once again meet a road shortly before arriving in Premoño.

There is a small picnic area on the way into town. Bar Feliciano is the only place for a drink in town and is on the left past the Capilla de Santa Ana de Premoño.

The Road:

At the end of town, the camino turns to the right near a large horreo (the square plan structure on stilts) and onto a country track. Cyclists should leave town by staying on the road, down the hill, and to the right at the first junction (PALADIN 1km...

Paládin offers a bench and shaded rest area, as well as a fountain, the ‘fuente lavadero la sierra’, which is 20m away behind a house. To get to the fountain turn right at the first road, and then right again at the entrance to the first house, then head straight back...

The Road:

Between Paladin and Peñaflor you will be walking with the río Nalón and the train tracks on your left-hand side. You will pass through the roadside villages of Puerma and Laracha. Peñaflor is on the opposite side of the river when you get to the first bridge. Once you have passed the...

If you are accustomed to using road signs to know where you are, then Peñaflor might confuse you. It is signed twice, once before the bridge and again afterward. For the sake of distance measurements, this guide uses the latter as it is closer to the actual town.

However! If you are...

The Road:

The camino leaves the main roads and crosses underneath the railway in Peñaflor, and will cross back over them at the outskirts of Grado.

With close to 10,000 inhabitants the city of Grado is the first opportunity to stock up on supplies since leaving the capital. There is a tourist information office in the park at the start of town and several grocery stores throughout the town.

If you would like to stop and look around (...

History:

Los Indianos. In the late 19th century, during a period of great poverty, a great many Gallegos, Asturianos, Cantabrians, and Basques emigrated to Central and South America; their proximity to the sea enabled them to travel more readily. A great many left but only a few struck it rich, and when...

Notice:

Beware guidebooks which erroneously place the Villapañada albergue in Grado, when it is in fact 3.5 km outside of town.

There is a traditional market held every Wednesday and Sunday.

The Road:

Leave Grado along the main road (N-634). You will pass the 18th century Fuente de Arriba, from which the people of Grado drew their water before the installation of running water, on your right. Shortly beyond a cruceiro (stone cross) on your left the camino turns left and begins...

The Ermita de la Virgen del Fresno is usually locked. However if you are passing through on the 28th of September, when a romería (a type of local pilgrimage) is held, you can get a peak inside.

The Road:

Where the camino meets the road before El Friesnu, a new information board indicates your options. The official camino descends to the left, following the old access road left behind from the construction of the adjacent highway....